Dancing the World 2008, May 2-24, Ticket office: 0191 261 0505
PERFORMANCE
Norway
Friday 2 May,
Saturday 3 May,
7:30pm
Dance City
Zero Visibility Corps:
I have a secret to tell you (please) leave with me
An energetic interplay between gender, desire, control and submission, set in a room with clean, white walls and a stylishly placed pommel horse to the right of the stage.
Choreographer Ina Christel Johannessen has a strong, physical and elegant style. In this work she includes elements that break down the division between what is artistically beautiful and what is genuinely vulgar. Entertaining and disturbing the performances of Zero Visibility Corps are based on improvisation and movement that carries echoes of martial arts and acrobatics. The soundscape is an important part of the performances and the company work with some of the most innovative artists in experimental electronic music. This new piece contains music Alva Noto, Goem and Fm3.
2nd May, 7.30pm
Live music from Charity Case
Tickets: Higher tier £15 (£12 concessions),Lower tier £12 (£10 concessions), £5 Early Bird
3rd May, 7.30pm
AntiÐDissertation Day
Red Bull Free Bar / Live DJs
Tickets: Higher tier £15 (£12 concessions), Lower tier £12 (£10 concessions), £5 Early Bird, £10 Students
Spain/UK
Monday 5 May
Dance City
Dive in at DC:
A day for family fun
Tin Arts: Under the Sea: 11am, 2pm
Inclusive workshops for families in creative writing, make and do, dance and drama plus shorter sessions in storytelling and song-writing.
Each workshop is suitable for children of all abilities
aged 4 and over. They are designed to involve all
family members and are only available to
accompanied children.
Aracaladanza: ¡Nada Nada!: 2pm, 4pm
A journey across and under the ocean with a stunning mermaid, wibbly-wobbly jelly-fish, spiky-spongy sea anemones, fish that fly and lots of buckets, spades and parasols.
This acclaimed Spanish company combines the magic of dance,
puppetry and music with spectacular costumes and stunning visual effects.
A magical introduction to dance for the young and great fun for all
the family.
Switzerland
Wednesday
7 May,
7:30pm
Dance City
Cie Philippe Saire
Could I just draw your attention to the brevity of life?
Using accessible and colourful imagery, this new creation is a shrewd review from six dancers that reveals itself in layers, unravelling the mechanisms of our lives and our thirst for distraction, that fascinating driving force in our lives. And in answer to the question posed in the title, there is a surprise finale, a reminder of the fragility of this universe.
UK
Thursday 8 May,
7:30pm
Dance City
Probe
Magpie
After glittering careers with international companies Antonia Grove & Theo Clinkard have created a potent new partnership, warmly welcomed by audiences & critics alike. Magpie comprises seven dazzling duets and solo from radically different choreographers including Mark Bruce, Charles Linehan, Stephem Mear, Jeremy James and Yasmeen Godder. Each piece is linked by linked by choreographed costume changes and movement.
Recommended for 12 years+
UK
Thursday 8,
Friday 9,
Saturday 10 May,
7:30pm
Northern Stage
DV8
To be straight with you
A multi-ethnic cast in a poetic but unflinching exploration of tolerance, intolerance, religion and sexuality. A new production based on hundreds of hours of audio interviews collected from people directly affected by these issues. Incorporating dance, text, documentary animation and film. As ever, DV8 refuses to be defined.
UK
Saturday 10 May,
7:30pm
Dance City
Bonachela Dance Company
Square Map of Q4
Art and popular culture meet to create an extraordinary experience that pushes the boundaries not only of what dance can be but also how it is presented. An international company of six dancers explore how memories shape our humanity. Rafael Bonachela's choreography is extremely physical but acutely sensitive and draws on fashion, pop and advertising to create new entry points for audiences. In this piece he casts images directly onto the dancers - enhancing the movement by using them as a live screen.
UK
Sunday 11 May,
12 noon-6pm
Dance City
Immerse
An embrace of movement and technology
Nicole Vivien Watson and Benjamin Freeth will transform Dance City into a series of intriguing exhibition spaces presenting innovative, experimental work from a range of artists who merge technology with movement.
The works will encourage interactivity and will display elements of performance. Come, explore and immerse yourself.
UK/France
Tuesday 13 May,
7:30pm
Dance City
Gemma Higginbotham and Philippe Blanchard/Adekwhat
Bits of Bob's Life
An artistic collaboration between choreographers Philippe Blanchard (founder of Adekwat) and Gemma Higginbotham and the second part of a trilogy based on identity, social codes, and the games that we play in our social relationships. Five performers deal with home and the necessity of defining a territory for oneself, misunderstandings occur in a co-habitation gone wrong.
Festival Commission and co-production between Dance City, Tanzhaus and Norlandsoperen.
USA
Tuesday 13,
Wednesday
14 May,
7:30pm
Theatre Royal
Rennie Harris Puremovement
A scorching hot ensemble that take hip-hop to the edge and beyond. This young,fresh innovative dance company pushes the boundaries of hip hop dance theatre with a programme that is raw,explosive and passionate. Rennie Harris has created a cohesive dance style that encompasses the diverse, rich African-American traditions while presenting the voice of a new generation. The athleticism and crowd-pleasing choreography are vehicles for hard-hitting subject matter.
Guaranteed to take your breath away.
UK
Wednesday
14 May,
7:30pm
Northern Stage
balletLORENT
maEternal
12 expectant mothers from the north-east join the company's core of professional dancers as they explore the spiritual change in women when they are at their most vulnerable and most potent.
Continuing her tradition of creating original and inspiring work, Liv Lorent has joined forces with Lynne Campbell of Bare Toed Dance Company to create this thought-provoking new piece.
China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, UK
EAST WIND - a festival within a festival
Pit Fong Loh, of Bi Ma Dance Company, has brought together this remarkable international line-up that demonstrates a variety of dance styles and approaches, each shaped by the cultural traditions of the performers.
Kim Itoh's choreographic style, for example, breaks down the boundaries between butoh and contemporary dance. While Oguri is a truly stunning butoh dancer who lives and breathes butoh when he performs. In contrast, Kim Eun Hee is a traditional Korean dancer infused with contemporary emotions, creating a dance style that is both constrained and powerful. Sang Jijia is a rising star within the Chinese contemporary dance scene and is said to have a touch of William Forsythe. Simnan Dance Company looks to combine traditional Chinese dance forms with contemporary dance. Each of the other performers bring their unique sensibilities to play in creating dances of incredible beauty and complexity.
Thursday 15 May, Friday 16 May,
Kim Itoh and The Glorious Future: Dead and Alive and Radio to Dance (solo)
Oguri: Wildflowers
Saturday 17 May
Ming Low: Game Over
Sang Jijia: Snow and Duet
Kim Eun Hee: Burying Together
Sinman Dance Company: Fire of Hope
Sunday 18 May
Mania: Fists and Sticks
Ming Low: Game Over
Sang Jijia: Snow and Duet
Kim Eun Hee: Burying Together
Sinman Dance Company: Fire of Hope
Portugal
Tuesday 20 May, Wednesday
21 May,
6pm and 9pm
Dance City
Rui Horta
Scope
Two performers discover each other, and the audience shares the adventure. Placed in two separated seating areas, with a 90º degree angle between them, two different perspectives embrace two different performers and condition each spectator. A piece about the different views we all have of the same reality.
Award winning Portuguese choreographer Rui Horta is a dance maverick. Best known in Britain for his legendary work for the Dance Company S.O.A.P., he has produced some of the most articulate, visually stylish and inspiring dance of the last decade.
Available from Dance City Ticket Office: 0191 261 0505 And online at Dance City
UK
Friday 23 May,
7:30pm
Dance City
Fiona Wright
On lying
Fiona Wright is best known for her many solo works over seventeen years of truly individual live art where stylised choreography combines with a personalised vein of writing.
The latest version of this one-woman performance returns to Newcastle after crowd-pleasing performances in Chicago and with a desire to tell it like it is. This piece is becoming something like she imagines writing a blog might be, if she could only bear the thought of turning up in so many other people's lives at once.
UK
Friday 23 May,
Saturday 24 May,
7:30pm
Northern Stage
Phoenix Dance Theatre
Cattle Call
An explosive and wildly entertaining multi-arts event: a collaboration from the Olivier Award winning team of choreographer Javier De Frutos and Richard Thomas, composer of Jerry Springer - The Opera. Cattle Call is the term used in the theatre profession for an open audition. It is also the term used for herding livestock for slaughter! Alongside the full company of Phoenix dancers, three musicians/singers will play live on stage.
CANADA
Friday 23 May,
High St (Marygate), Berwick upon Tweed 1pm and 3pm Saturday 24 May, Carlisle Park, Morpeth 1pm and 3pm
Friday 23 May & Saturday 24 May: Corpus
Les Moutons
Northumberland Strategic Arts Forum, Castle,Morpeth Borough Council and Berwick uponTweed Borough Council, in partnership with Dance City are presenting the Canadian company Corpus in Carlisle Park in Morpeth and High Street in Berwick upon Tweed. A live installation where reality meets fantasy. Julie, Marie-Louise, and Bernadette are three healthy young sheep; César is the old ram. The shepherd is here too,taking the audience through a sophisticated and entertaining look at human behaviour; amusing, frightening and surreal.
SPAIN
Saturday 24 May,
7:30pm
Dance City
Belen Maya and Olga Pericet
The festival closes with an extravaganza that will include classes in dance, guitar and percussion suitable for all levels, including children. The weekend guarantees music, dance, fun and entertainment, in short - Fiesta.
The highlight will be the world premiere of OPEN PROJECT, a performance by the world's most acclaimed flamenco female dancers of the moment Belen Maya and Olga Pericet. Both are multiple award recipients with power to heat the stage and the soul. Dance City has brought these two stunning dancers together to create a new, specific to the festival, with original music and choreography.